Symphonies of the heart

He's the shy guy. He likes to keep a low-profile. At the rehearsal session one night before his first ever live performance (post his iconic status), A. R. Rahman stayed away from public gaze, spending most of the time at the music console. Usually not too keen to face the press, he made an exception at the eve of the concert in aid of The Banyan. ``After a point of time, you run out of words. And you let the music do the talking for you,'' the genius music directorA. R. Rahman tells Sudhish Kamath, in an interview.

The first word of encouragement for the show came from him, the organisers tell us, as they introduce the man who needs no introduction. A. R.Rahman lights up instantly, the tone pretty informal. ``I think we have met before,'' he says, with a warm handshake.

And you suddenly realise, that A. R. Rahman might have Michael Jackson status in India, but not quite the ``Hey, I am a superstar'' attitude.

``I was not sure of my schedule,'' he explains his `special appearance' performance. ``The concept is about kids singing...,'' he looks at the organisers not sure if he could give more details. And it turns out he would be doing a couple of numbers featuring children. ``But I have performed before. Before I was A. R. Rahman,'' he clarifies when you ask him if it is really his first ever show in Chennai. Rahman, in spite of his limited films every year, is a busy man, on the move. ``Right now, I am doing `Lagaan' for Aamir,'' he starts off to answer the query on what's keeping him busy these days. Talking of Aamir, it was Rahman who suggested that Aamir drop in for the concert too.

``Then, there's Balachander's `Parthalae Paravasam', `Kathal Virus', I keep going in and around the country. I am also doing `Bombay Dreams', that's a Broadway play,'' he continues.

Abraham Maslow with his needs theory would find Rahman a tough subject to be included in it, for he has almost got every need of his met already-physiological, social, security, esteem and even self-actualisation.

``It's strange. Some times you want everything and hope God gives it to you. For me, its more of God giving me everything than me wanting it. I am just going the distance that God is taking me, just going along,'' he says.

``Not everybody has got that kind of a possibility of expanding. Even when somebody reaches his fullest level, he needs to ensure he does not mess it up. Life is such, that if there are successes, there are also failures,'' he adds.

``I started with light music, then went on to rock, fusion, worked with international artistes and now I see myself as a composer,'' says the man who set out on the journey to success with `Roja'. Today, he is a contented man. Extremely choosy about his work, not signing up films just for the sake of money they could make. What about live concerts? Is he comfortable performing live at this stage of his career?

``I think concerts need a lot of time to prepare. My shows take a minimum of 6 months to prepare. My first big show was in Malaysia, the second was Dubai (the one we see on TV) and then the US. I will probably do them once in two years. I am very comfortable with the stage. I unwind there. The audience also will feel satisfied once they have a performer at his full level,'' explains Rahman.

Given his passion for concerts, would he make it to Bangalore on Sunday evening for the Deep Purple concert? ``I want to. I just might, lets see,'' says the Deep Purple fan. Incidentally, A.R.Rahman's first ever performance on stage was ``Smoke on the Water''.

``That was when I was in High school,'' goes his flashback.

A. R. Rahman

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